Waubonsee Community College

The orchid and the dandelion, why some children struggle and how all can thrive, W. Thomas Boyce, MD

eng

Includes bibliographical references and index

illustrations

index present

non fiction

The orchid and the dandelion

bibliography

1015815618

W. Thomas Boyce, MD

why some children struggle and how all can thrive

"From one of the foremost researchers and pioneers of pediatric health--a book that offers hope and a pathway to success for parents, teachers, psychologists, psychiatrists, and child development experts coping with 'difficult' children. A book that fully explores the author's revolutionary discovery about childhood development, parenting, and the key to helping all children find happiness and success. In [this book], Dr. W. Thomas Boyce writes of the 'dandelion' child (hardy, resilient, healthy), able to survive and flourish under most circumstances, and the 'orchid' child (sensitive, susceptible, fragile), who, given the right support, can thrive as much as, if not more than, other children. For the past four decades Boyce has been working with troubled children. [This book] offers help to those who have lost their confidence in the promise of a child gone seriously adrift--into drug abuse, delinquency, depression, or destructive friendships, the dark territory of psychological trouble, school failure, or criminality. Boyce's breakthrough research reveals how genetic makeup and environment shape behavior. Rather than seeing this 'risk' gene as a liability, through his daring research, Boyce has recast the way we think of human frailty and shows that while variant genes can create problems (susceptibility to depression, anxiety, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and antisocial, sociopathic, or violent behaviors), they can also, in the right setting and with the right nurturing, produce children who not only do better than before but far exceed their peers. He describes what it is to be an orchid child, to live a life far more intense, painful, vivid, and variable than that of a dandelion. For orchid children, the world is often a frightening and overwhelming place. He makes clear that orchids are not failed dandelions and shows people how to embrace the unique gifts, abilities, and strengths of orchid children and how to create an environment at home and work that will allow them to flourish. Boyce writes, as well, of dandelions: how vital they are to what George Eliot describes as 'the growing good of the world,' even in the midst of their own struggles and life challenges. He writes of his own family, particularly of his sister, the inspiration for his work, an orchid child overcome by the family's tragedies and sadnesses to which the author, as a dandelion child, was impervious. And we come to understand that beneath the serviceable categories of 'orchid' and 'dandelion' lies the truer reality of a continuum, a spectrum of sensitivities to the world, along which we all have a place."--Dust jacketWe've all seen them: the 'dandelion' child (hardy, resilient, healthy), able to survive and flourish under most circumstances, and the 'orchid' child (sensitive, susceptible, fragile), who needs more support than other children. Boyce has worked with troubled children in child-development research for almost four decades, and here he explores how genetic make-up and environment shape behavior. He writes that certain variant genes can increase a person's susceptibility to depression, anxiety, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and antisocial, sociopathic, or violent behaviors. But rather than being a liability, these 'bad genes' need to be nurtured and taught in special ways. -- adapted from publisher info

Introductory note / by Robert Coles -- Foreword / by T. Berry Brazelton -- A tale of two children -- The noise and the music -- Lemon juice, fire alarms, and an unanticipated discovery -- An orchestration of orchids and dandelions -- Where do orchids (and dandelions) come from? -- No two children are raised in the same family -- The kindness and cruelty of children -- Sowing and tilling the gardens of childhood -- The arc of life for orchids and dandelions -- The sins of the fathers, the means of grace -- Conclusion: Helping all children thrive -- Coda: An Eden rendered whole, the orchid and the dandelion